Nationally recognized technology programs guide students to success
By: Angela Scipione
News Editor
Hudson Valley technology degrees give you bang for your buck; receive national recognition as meeting the highest standards.
“Beat out Texas A&M on pure education and absolutely killed it in value,” Tyler Heritage-Viggiano, a recent graduate of Mechanical engineering technology said when the re-accreditation for ABET was announced. He is currently an Engineering Technician for Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham, TX.
Hudson Valley’s technology degree programs in Civil Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology recently received national reaccreditation from The Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission, ETAC, of ABET.
“[This reaccreditation] means that as our students progress through and graduate, that the credits are recognized nationally in relationship to most four year schools that carry ABET accreditation. So it would be easier for them to transfer and to get jobs,” said School of Engineering and Industrial Technologies Dean Phil White.
ABET has reaccredited Hudson Valley’s engineering technology programs since 1970, and the tradition continues this fall semester. The renewed accreditation status will be in place until 2024, when the ETAC will re-evaluate the programs again.
So how is it that we have been able to keep this accreditation for so long?
“Everything is more relevant to what is required in the specific areas of study. And what happens is we have certain goals that we say our students will be able to do, and then they come back and look to see: do our students do those goals? And we have to meet the outcomes that we say we will that are based upon the ABET accreditation model,” Dean White explains.
And so, graduates of these programs are prepared to enter a variety of engineering technology-related careers.
“I would have to say a large percentage [of students have success after graduation], and so many of them are gonna go here and then go on to a four year school and get their engineering license and so forth,” Dean White said.
He continued by expressing just how important this accreditation is for not just the students, but the college. “You go through these reviews and the team arrives… and they’re here going through questions… and they have a team of experts interviewing students and faculty, looking through various paperwork. It just says a lot about the faculty and the programs and the school. If we’re willing to go through this to give [students] a product that is more valuable, I think that says a lot about Hudson Valley too.”
Professors in the program share in the pride of receiving ABET status. “I am very proud to be associated with these programs. We have a long history of providing top quality graduates,” adjunct professor Arthur Pakatar said.
“I know several student who have achieved great success in life after HVCC and yes, they will tell you our programs are a big part of that. I am an example of one of these students who feel the programs at HVCC contributed greatly to my success – it is why I work here,” he continued.
The statics reflect the remarks of faculty in the technology degree programs. “For the last several years, our students who have transferred to a four year program consistently graduate in the top 10% of their class; the success rate from our program to other four year programs is nearly 100% as we can measure,” said professor of mechanical engineering technology, Douglas H. Baxter.
Baxter asserts that, “at the end of the day, these [students] are doing well because they are dedicated and hard working. If we did anything, it was to provide a strong background in the profession and attempt to lead by example.”